good tuesday morning. coming up on "early today," president obama unveiling today what the house says is his key priority for a second term. immigration reform. three months after superstorm sandy hit the northeast, residents finally get what they've been demanding from congress. all that and a potential major change for the boy scouts. the heat is on at the white house. and burglars beware, you don't want to mess with taye diggs. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for tuesday, january 29th, 2013. good morning. i'm mara schiavocampo. the groundwork has been laid and today, president obama will detail his plans for the

broadest overhaul of this country's immigration law in nearly three decades. the president will make his announcement in las vegas the day after a bipartisan group of senators up veil their plans. nbc's tracie potts is in washington with more. tracie. good morning. >> reporter: are good morning, everyone. the white house said what the president will say in las vegas is similar to what we saw that group of democrats and republicans lay out here on capitol hill yesterday. but the white house plan is ready to go. a piece of legislation that if congress drags its feet, this is something they'll be able to vote on. the hallmark of that plan is what to do about the 11 million illegal immigrants already in this country. conservatives don't want to hear the "a" word and that group of democrats and republicans who brought out their plan yesterday said it won't be amnesty because it will be background checks, taxes, they'll have to learn english just to get in the back of the line to earn citizenship. but the big concern here for

democrats and republicans particularly is border security going to come first. is that going to be guaranteed before more people are allowed to stay in this country legally. they're predicting some pushback but hoping eventually this will in fact pass on capitol hill. civic groups, labor groups came out yesterday. they are backing what they call common sense reform. saying they don't want to see this done in a piece he'll fashion. remember, the original idea four years ago, president obama's promise was comprehensive reform. now, they're trying to get it done in the second term. mara. >> tracie potts, thanks for that. we're learning more about that gefs stating fire that swept through a brazilian nightclub killed 233 people. nbc's annabel roberts joins us with the latest. what is the latest on the investigation? >> reporter: good morning, mara. well, i understand that actually a fourth person has now been detained by police, held for questioning so that makes two

co-owners of the nightclub.the head of security at that club and a band member. and really investigations are focusing on why the fire spread so quickly. it appears that a member of the band lit some kind of pyrotechnic that set fire to the ceiling that was covered in some very flammable insulation. and investigations are focusing on that, i've heard but i cannot confirm at this stage that the fire club's safety permit had actually expired last year and it was in the process of getting that permit renewed. obviously, a lot of questions to be answered in the coming days. but as we speak, there are still, i understands are 100 students who attended that party at the club still being treat ted hospital for smoke inhalation. it's not official yet, but monday the boy scouts of america announced plans to reverse a national band on gay scouts and leaders. under the new rules there would

no longer be a national policy on sexual orientation, rather, local groups would decide tour themselves. in 2012, they upheld the right. and the boy scouts national board votes on this next week. and insiders predict it will pass and go in effect june 1st. some conservative family groups and church organizations are firmly opposed to the move. three months after superstorm sandy pounded the northeast, congress has approved a $50 billion emergency aid package. in a 62-30 vote, the senate passed. the president applauded the move and said he'll sign the bill as soon as it gets to his desk. president obama hosted several law enforcement officials at the white house monday in an effort to promote gun control legislation. at the meeting, police chiefs from cities that have recently seen mass shootings, including, newtown, connecticut, aurora,

colorado. the police chiefs urged the president to focus on strengthening background checks and mental health systems but didn't get behind his more of controversial gun control effort. nevertheless, the white house called the meeting, quote, very productive. now, to australia where torrential rains have led to flooding of biblical proportions. forecasters have said the wares have peeked but not before killing four people and forcing thousands to flee the fast-moving water. residents have been rescued from homes and roads swollen water wahs. now for a look at the weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning. >> a crazy weather day across the u.s. dangerous day later today. this morning, the temperatures are head-shaking. we started yesterday afternoon. i highlighted the area in the middle of the country. it was 74 degrees in january in kansas city. one degree away from the all-time warmest temperature ever recorded in january. and topeka kansas saw their

warmest day they've ever had in january. that warmth was widespread from texas to florida. now, here's the setup for the march-like severe weather outbreak. huge dip in the jet. we have a lot of rich moisture coming out of the gulf, this is just a setup for the severe storms starting this morning and then going all the way through wednesday night before it exits the east coast. already this morning, we set a record high at midnight. record high 63. 67 in the middle of the night. crazy. as far as the radar goes, not a lot right now. we had the snow through the northern plains last night. some freezing rain problems up there in north portions of the great lakes but the severe tomorrow storms will come later today. as this front begins to progress, the lighter areas of to oklahoma city, dallas is where the storms will form later this morning and then they'll sweep through arkansas especially late this afternoon to this evening. this area in red, a moderate risk of severe storms. that's a possibility of

tornados, jonesville, to memphis. to pine bluff, all of missouri, you're the greatest areas of concern. make sure you have the radios on tonight when you go to bed because those storms are going to roll through when you're all sleeping. you get the picture, a dangerous next 48 hours. that's a look at your national forecast. now, here's a look at weather outside your window. >> so those thunderstorms could make it even as far north as chicago. chicago could be 63 degrees in january. just to show you how unusual this storm system is. that would easily be a record high there. now, look at memphis, 75, before those storms arrive. >> it literally is a mid to late march type day. >> wow, and it was so cold last week all over the country. >> and it's going to get really cold behind this. straight ahead on tuesday morning, a queen advocates to give her shot at the throne. plus, general motors knocked from the top spot in global car sales. and is this the world's

newest threat, iranian space monkey? there he is. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. here are some other stories making news this morning. in egypt, anti-government protesters threw molotov cocktails to police who fired tear gas. they defied demonstrators of to mohamed morsi. turk ishg leaders said an american woman missing in that country for a week also took several side trips outside of the country visiting munich and amsterdam. her husband and brother are in turkey to join the search. barbara walters is still in a hospital in new york, and it turns out that she has the chickenpox. which very rare for an 83-year-old but not life threatening. walters was recently treated after she fell and hit her head. queen beatrice of the netherlands will step down after 30 years on the throne.

she's abdicating so her son can be the first king in the country. iran says it successfully launched a rocket containing a monkey into earth orbit and brought it safely back. but the u.s. said they cannot confirm whether or not the monkey actually went into space or that iran ace technology could be used for a nuclear program. and incredible images of our closest neighbor in space, the andromeda. they captured the stunning pictures showing pictures in the red areas near absolute zero. moving over to wall street, the dow opens at 13,881 after losing 14 points yesterday. the s&p was down 2 but the nasdaq gained 4. overseas, the nikkei rose 42 points but the hang seng lost 16. stocks tooth a breather from another bull run. after the closing bell, shares of yahoo! surged as investors

cheered better than expected earnings and a slight uptick in revenue. coming up before the bell, we'll get a broader snapshot of companies, including forbes, sizer pharmaceuticals and a.k. steel. and we'll see if amazon weathered the crucial shopping season. speculation is the central bank will keep interest rates near record lows. on the street monday, bargain hunters scooped up apple stock after it tumbled 14% last week, putting apple back into the most valuable spot ahead of exxonmobil. also back on top, toyota, the automaker retook the title as the world's largest automaker thanks to a 20% surge in global sales last year. general motors announced it's spending millions for a plant in kansas city where it produces the malibu and the lacrosse.

meanwhile, calling out the pay czar for executive pay including gm, insurer aig and allied financial. and we've all heard that chicken wings are more expensive this year, but come ones are a chicken wing black market? two georgia men were arrested for allegedly stealing $35,000 of chicken wings. straight ahead, what would you do if your bus driver passed out? luckily for passengers what one man knew what to do. and plus, what the president said about the white house visit. and the forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. now to some other stories that caught our eye this morning. we begin in new york where a city bus crashed into several parked cars during rush hour. 23 passengers were on board when the driver passed out behind the wheel, setting off that chaotic ordeal. a passenger grabbed the wheel and ended the wild ride before anyone was killed. next to a new york city subway where a dramatic 911 call was placed. >> i'm -- >> okay. >> well, the pilot and passenger were rescued and hospitalized for hypothermia.

in nebraska now, a tree came crashing down nearly destroying a few homes. the crash was due to erosion caused by a water main break. re crews have recruited the tree but had trouble. lamborghini launched their latest luxury cars pushed 500 to 585 miles an hour. and finally, the big apple is buzzing over the two new breeds that will compete at this year's westminster kennel club dog show. russell terriers and treeing walker coonhounds have been invited. 3200 dogs are expected to compete for the best in show title next month. moving ton sports, we start with tiger woods at the farmers insurance open. tiger became the first pga tour player to win eight times at a

single course capturing win number 75 of his career. in college basketball, number two kansas fought off a challenge from west virginia to extend the nation's longest winning streak to 18 games. the jayhawks over the mountaineers, 61-56. in the nba, memphis rallied from a 17-point deficit and 26 points against philadelphia. the grizzlies defeated the 76ers, 103-100. and president obama welcomed the nba champions the miami heat to the white house. the team gave the president a jersey with his name on. superstar lebron james seemed odd being there with the president. >> we're in the white house right now this is like, hey, mom, i made it. ♪ ♪ "early today" sports is brought to you by just for men mustache and beard. keep your edge. >> the president seemed just as happy to be with lebron. just ahead, meet the san francisco 49ers secret super bowl weapon.

plus, tina fey reveal her dream project post-"30 rock." and don't let it fool you, taye diggs's worst nightmare. this is "early today" on nbc.

welcome back. the most important weather thing we need to pass on to everyone today if they have any friends or relatives that live in the state of arkansas, areas of the western tennessee and make sure they have severe weather heading their way. and a possibility of tornadoes and through the evening.

the overnight events when it's dark that you can't see the tornadoes that they can be the most dangerous. so the area of yellow. it's going to be widespread today, almost from chicago, all the way down to new orleans and the dallas area. but it's the area of red that's of the most concern. the greatest risk of seeing tornadoes. everyone else is going to have to deal with a strong squall line. it will probably last a half hour but knock down trees. east coast is fine today. back behind this, by the way, cold and snow. much of the rockies is looking like the middle of the winter. so a lot of travel issues out there today, you name it. well, "mean" girls fans may have reason to celebrate with "30 rock" ended thursday. tina fey is looking for a project. that may be a "mean girls" musical. well, taye diggs' night was just getting started after he left the s.a.g. awards sunday. the actor arrived home to find an intruder in his garage.

diggs chased the man down and held him until the police arrived on the scene. disney is taking hold on thesterster. the new owner of the franchise said they would rather focus on the development of the films. rapper rick ross crashed his rolls royce apartment building. the actor was not hurt. but it did call attention to threats made against ross' life. and kris jenner is finally getting what she has always wanted her own tv show. the kardashian matriarch will launch their own tv show. i keep thinking their train is going to run out. >> well, the one-hour talk show is all on the table. it's out. >> they seem easy to thrive in putting their laundry out there. this no different.

>> yes, not easy. this comes from kntv where a monmouth creek fan was awarded for his longtime support of the team. terry white is he going to the super bowl courtesy of the team's owner. san francisco owner jed york learned the die hard fan had attended every super bowl the niners had played in and they won all five of those games. i think he's like a good luck charm. >> definitely good luck charm, if he goes 5-1 -- >> he won't be invited back. >> i'm mara schiavocampo, and this is "early today," this, your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> good morning. we're heading into a mile stretch of weather. temperatures will make it into the 50's this afternoon. there is some fog to start today. most of you will have a dry thursday. we will check the seven-day going into the weekend. >> 4:56. from sendoff to touch down --

>> talk about leaving town in style on a cold day. now everyone is in new orleans including jennifer franciotti. >> police are gearing up for the big day. that story straight ahead. >> a purple wedding dress for one ravens fan. >>

[ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. of green giant vegetables it's easy to eat like a giant... ♪ and feel like a green giant. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> we did this in 2000. we are not going to new orleans